Moses Fletcher (c1564-1621)
}} Biography Moses Fletcher was born about 1564 probably in Sandwhich, England. Scrooby Separatists Scrooby Separatists were a mixed congregation of early English Protestants / non-conformists founding living in the border region of of South Yorkshire, Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire. They were called "Separatists" because of their rebellion against the religious authority of the Church of England, the official state religion. In 1607/8 the Congregation emigrated to Netherlands in search of the freedom to worship as they chose. Shortly after that they were the basis of the group to sail in the Mayflower to the New World. Moses married a woman named Mary Evans on 30 October 1589 in England. Together they had ten children. He was excommunicated in 1609 after burying his daughter Judith in a manner unapproved by the church of England. This prompted Moses to join the Pilgrim Separatists and flee to Leiden, Holland. There he worked as a blacksmith and married a woman named Sarah in 1613 shortly after his wife Mary died. Voyage of the Mayflower In 1620 Moses, along with other members of his church, departed for the new world. It is unclear why Moses came by himself on the Mayflower. Perhaps his wife Sarah had died by that time. He signed the Mayflower Compact November 1620, but died alone sometime that first winter in Plymouth Colony. The Mayflower, originating from London with a group of Adventurers bound for the New World rendezvoused on 22 July with the Speedwell just arriving from Holland with a group of religious refugees from Leiden. Originally intended to sail jointly to the English Colony in Virginia it soon became evident that Speedwell was not seaworthy. Passengers and cargo were combined onto Mayflower (with many left behind) for the journey, finally departing on September 9. During the voyage fierce storms blew the ship off course, arriving at Cape Cod on the Eastern Massachusetts coastline on November 9th. For two days they attempted to sail south to Virginia but exhausting supplies and fierce storms caused them to abort this effort and drop anchor at what is now Provincetown Harbor. On November 11th, the group decided to settle here and start their own colony. They wrote a governmental contract called the Mayflower Compact, Moses was 27th of 41 signers on this document. About the middle of December 1620, the ship moved and dropped anchor in Plymouth Harbor. All the while the pilgrims were conducting several exploring missions of the area and negotiations with the local natives. Almost half of the passengers died, suffering from an outbreak of a contagious disease described as a mixture of scurvy, pneumonia and tuberculosis. In the spring, they built huts ashore, and on March 21, 1621, the surviving passengers disembarked from the Mayflower into their new settlement at Plymouth, Massachusetts. Marriage & Family 1st Marriage : Mary Evans Mary Evans on October 30, 1589 at St. Peters Church, Sandwich, Kent, England. They had ten children between about 1590 and about 1609, eight of whom were baptized at St. Peters. She died sometime between 1609 and 1613 in either England or Holland. Her burial place is unknown. Of his children, only John, Priscilla and Elizabeth are known to have married and may have descendants today in the Netherlands. None of the children are known to have come to the New World. Children of Moses and Mary Fletcher, all baptized at St. Peters Church in Sandwich, Kent: # Mary, baptized January 4, 1589/90. No further record. # John, born about 1592. Married Josina Sarcharias, in Leiden December 5, 1618. Had at least four children. He died after February 13, 1656. # Catherine, baptized September 1, 1594. No further record. # Richard, baptized January 2, 1596/7. No further record. # Priscilla was baptized on March 24, 1599/1600. # Moses, baptized October 10, 1602. Died as an infant - buried April 21, 1603. # Elizabeth was baptized on April 4, 1604 and was still living September 28, 1677. # Jane, baptized February 8, 1606/7. No further record. # Moses, baptized April 2, 1609. No further record. # Judith, died as an infant - buried on November 6, 1609 at St. Peters, Sandwich.5 2nd Marriage: Sarah Denby Sarah _____ Denby, widow of Englishman William Denby, in Leiden on December 21, 1613. Moses Fletcher was about age forty-nine years old at this time. The are no children recorded from this marriage. There is no date of her death, which is believed to have been in Holland. Her burial place is unknown Vital Records Bradford's 1651 Journal Moses died sometime in the winter of 1620-1621. William Bradford recorded his death and that of other male passengers traveling alone: "Moyses Fletcher, Thomas Williams, Digerie Preist, John Goodman, Edmond Margeson, Richard Britterige, Richard Clarke. All these dyed sone after their arivall, in the generall sicknes that befell. But Digerie Preist had his wife and children sent hither afterwards, she being Mr. (John) Allerton's sister. But the rest left no posteritie here." Cole's Hill Memorial A large monument was erected in 1921 on Cole's Hill in Plymouth, Massachusetts to honor the many pilgrims who came to Plymouth Colony in the Mayflower but died during the first terrible winter and were buried here. This person is one of those person's listed thereon. Pilgrim Monument National Monument to the Forefathers, commemorates the Mayflower Pilgrims, (including this person) who came to Plymouth Colony in 1620 on the Mayflower. Dedicated on August 1, 1889, it is thought to be the world's largest solid granite monument. Located on an 11 acre hilltop site on Allerton Street in Plymouth, Massachusetts. References * MainTour Plymouth Colony * - Wikipedia * Moses Fletcher - Mayflower History * - #28971741 * Moses Fletcher - disambiguation Category: Honored on Cole's Hill Memorial Category:Migrants from England to Massachusetts Category: People honored on National Monument to the Forefathers Category: Mayflower passengers Category: Plymouth Colony Category: Migrants from England to Plymouth Colony Category:Blacksmiths Category:English separatists Category: Scrooby Separatists